Remarks by the Vice President at the 2003 George CA Marshall Foundation Award Dinner Honoring Secretary Colin Powell
The National Building Museum
Washington, D.c.
November 12, 2003

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you all very
much. Thank you, General Meyer. And thank you all of you for that
welcome. It's a pleasure to be here tonight among such distinguished
company. I wanted to note, in particular, the President -- the
presence of President Carlo Ciampi, of Italy, this evening. Of course,
the Italian armed forces experienced a heavy loss in Iraq today, and
the United States honors the memory of the men who fell. Mr.
President, we are grateful for the friendship and the courage of your
people. Italy has been an outstanding ally of the United States.

I also want to acknowledge Lord Robertson, David Rockefeller,
members of Congress, members of the diplomatic corps. And I appreciate
the chance to join all of you tonight in honoring my friend Colin
Powell.

Any tribute to Secretary Powell must also recognize those people
closest to him. I've known Colin's wife, Alma, and their family for
many years, and nothing reflects better on the man than his fine
family. It's good to see all of them this evening, as well.

I'm here tonight as a colleague of Secretary Powell's and as a
trustee of the George C. Marshall Foundation. Like Colin, I've admired
General Marshall most of my life. A half century after his Nobel price
and 44 years after his passing, General Marshall commands a special
respect in our history, and among soldiers and students of his career.

It would not be quite accurate, however, to say that his reputation
has grown over the years. The truth is that Marshall, whose
contemporaries were among the greatest men of the 20th century, stood
out even then. General Eisenhower said, "our soldiers and our people
have never been so indebted to any other soldier." Winston Churchill
called Marshall, "the noblest Roman." And at the coronation of
Elizabeth II, the entire congregation at Westminster Abbey stood up as
the American general arrived. President Harry Truman wrote in his
diary, "The more I see and talk to Marshall, the more certain I am that
he's the great one of the age."

Of all the giants of that era, about the only one who never spoke
of Marshall's greatness was Marshall himself. He was actually a modest
man, who was comfortable leaving credit to others. Of Marshall, a
British officer said, "In his presence, ambition folds his tent." This
great man was defined not by ambition, but by utter devotion to the
country and to its cause. In more then 40 years of military service,
he showed unrivaled organizational ability, and the kind of integrity
and clear judgment that drew others instantly to him. And the Marshall
Plan -- the greatest national commitment of the postwar period -- had
all the qualities of the man himself: strategic insight, broadness of
vision, generosity, and moral clarity.

In my early days as Secretary of Defense I made two important
decisions -- one symbolic and the other very practical. The first was
to ask that a portrait of General Marshall in the Pentagon be moved
into my office. The second was to recommend that another exceptional
Army officer be named chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General
Colin Powell.

I first met Colin some years before in the 1980s, in Germany, where
he led V Corps, and was headquartered in Frankfurt. It didn't take
long to realize that I was dealing with man of considerable
capabilities. I wasn't surprised when President Reagan later brought
him into the White House as Deputy National Security Advisor, and then
promoted to him to the job now held by Dr. Condoleezza Rice. I saw
then in General Powell the qualities I was to see often at the
Pentagon, and during these last three years.

Colin Powell is a man who stands his grounds -- as I've learned a
few times trying to move him. When you're in the business of national
security, you need discernment and patience and focus. And to make a
useful contribution, you need a level head when danger comes and the
big decisions have to be made. In these challenging times for America,
our 65th Secretary of State has all of these qualities and more. I've
been in hundreds of hours of meetings with him, traveled many thousands
of miles in his company, and my first impression of the man's high
caliber and integrity have been confirmed many times over.

I was there in Crawford, Texas, nearly three years ago when Colin's
nomination was announced. President-elect Bush said, "It's a great day
when a son of the South Bronx succeeds to the office first held by
Thomas Jefferson." From that day to this, Colin Powell has done his
duty in a way that would make George C. Marshall proud. And if they
could see him today, I know that two good-hearted people named Maud and
Luther Powell would also be very proud the man their son has become.